Hole cup for golf practice

ABSTRACT

A hole cup for golf practice includes: a base plate with a given area unfoldedly located supportedly on a floor; and hole wall bodies arranged on top of the base plate to extend upward from the base plate to a given height and having an entry hole formed at the insides thereof to allow a golf ball to accommodatedly enter and entry openings formed on one side thereof to allow the golf ball to pass therethrough and thus enter the entry hole from the outside, wherein two or more entry openings are formed with different widths from one another.

CROSS REFERENCE

The present application claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 20-2022-0000853 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on 7 Apr. 2022, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a hole cup for golf practice that serves as a target upon golf putting practice.

In specific, the present invention relates to a hole cup for golf practice that is installed on an indoor or outdoor floor, so that while a putting practice process in which a golf ball rolls and enters according to a user's putting swing is being repeatedly performed, the sizes of entry spaces for the golf ball are selectively adjusted to allow the user to efficiently practice his or her putting with high precision.

In more specific, the present invention relates to a hole cup for golf practice that is configured to allow, if a golf ball enters the inside thereof successfully, the successful putting to be recognized by a user through sounds and light and to increase his or her interest in putting, thereby improving his or her putting practice efficiency.

Recently, as the number of people participating in golf has recently increased, demands for products related to golf, such as fields, indoor golf ranges, self golf practice machines, and the like are increasingly made, and among them, devices for putting practice with various configurations have been developed.

The devices for putting practice are basically small in size and thus installed easily on small indoor spaces so that they can be used irrespective of places.

Typically, the device for putting practice includes a mat having a given width and extending long in a longitudinal direction thereof and a hole cup disposed on top of the mat, and in this case, the hole cup is provided to the form of a slope hole cup for putting practice on a slope and a flat plane hole cup for putting practice on flat plane, while having an introduction hole formed to introduce a golf ball therein.

In specific, putting practice in which a golf ball is putted by a user from one side of the mat and moves to the introduction hole is performed, thereby improving his or her putting skill.

One of conventional technologies relating to the device for putting practice is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-2016-0006971 (Entitled ‘Hole cup for golf practice’/Dated Dec. 1, 2016), and the conventional hole cup for golf practice as disclosed includes: a rectangular floor plate having a hollow portion formed at the center thereof; four vertical walls extending upward from central portions of the four sides of the floor plate to form a square post; two vertical wing walls extending from both ends of one vertical wall selected among the vertical walls to the outside of the floor plate in a direction passing through an outer corner of the floor plate adjacent to both ends of the vertical wall; and two incised lines formed on both ends of the vertical wall located between the vertical wing walls in a height direction of the vertical wall.

Another conventional technology is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-2008-0004619 (Entitled ‘Hole cup for golf practice’/Dated Apr. 8, 2008), and the conventional hole cup for golf practice as disclosed includes a support plate having an arch shaped incised portion formed on the inside thereof and a first entry incised portion formed open to the outside on a section between the outer edge thereof and the incised portion and a rotation adjusting plate having a second entry incised portion formed open to the outside on a section between the outer edge thereof and the incised portion, wherein the rotation adjusting plate comes into contact with the inner periphery of the incised portion formed on the inside of the support plate and slidingly rotates.

Yet another conventional technology is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-2006-0117986 (Entitled ‘Hole cup for golf putting practice’/Dated Nov. 28, 2006), and the conventional hole cup for golf putting practice as disclosed is configured to have a hole formed on a slant top position, a transfer path formed on the outer periphery of the hole, a golf ball guider disposed on the rear side of the hole, and a slant surface whose rear side is low formed on the bottom of the hole, wherein on the bottom of the transfer path is formed a slant surface that is high in position on the position of the golf ball guider and lower in position on the front side thereof.

Still another conventional technology is disclosed in Korean Utility Model Application No. 20-2005-0032603 (Entitled ‘Hole cup for golf putting practice’/Dated Nov. 17, 2005), and the conventional hole cup for golf putting practice as disclosed includes a cylindrical bobbin having an opening with a smaller diameter than a standard hole cup and a larger diameter than a golf ball so as to allow a golf ball putted to enter under more strict conditions, a protrusion protruding from the underside of the bobbin and thus fittedly attached to the hole cup on an artificial glass mat or the standard hole cup on rear glass green, and a wing base attachedly supported against the hole cup and supportedly kept in balance so that the wing base is located on the floor, as a single product, irrespective of any indoor or outdoor floor conditions, without being attached to the hole cup, so as to allow a user to perform putting practice.

However, the conventional hole cups for golf practice cannot selectively adjust the sizes of entry spaces for the golf ball, thereby failing to efficiently practice his or her putting with high precision.

Besides, if the golf ball enters the inside of the hole cup successfully, the conventional hole cups for golf practice have to recognize the successful putting with the naked eye, so that as the motion of the user for watching the hole cup is generated after putting, his or her putting posture becomes lost, thereby failing to perform successful putting practice.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems occurring in the related art, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a hole cup for golf practice that is installed on an indoor or outdoor floor and serves as a target upon putting practice, so that while a putting practice process in which a golf ball rolls and enters according to a user's putting swing is being repeatedly performed, the sizes of entry spaces for the golf ball are selectively adjusted to efficiently practice his or her putting with high precision.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hole cup for golf practice that is configured to allow, if a golf ball enters the inside thereof successfully, the successful putting to be recognized by a user through sounds and light and to prevent the motion of the user for watching an entry hole from being generated after putting so that his or her putting posture is not lost and his or her interest in putting increases to improve his or her putting practice efficiency in right posture.

To accomplish the above-mentioned objects, according to the present invention, there is provided a hole cup for golf practice including: a base plate with a given area unfoldedly located supportedly on a floor; and hole wall bodies arranged on top of the base plate to extend upward from the base plate to a given height and having an entry hole formed at the insides thereof to allow a golf ball to accommodatedly enter and entry openings formed on one side thereof to allow the golf ball to pass therethrough and thus enter the entry hole from the outside, wherein two or more entry openings are formed with different widths from one another.

According to the present invention, desirably, the three entry openings may be formed around the center of the entry hole at intervals of equal angles to one another, so that the entry openings are located to face the wall surfaces of the hole wall bodies.

According to the present invention, desirably, the hole cup for golf practice may further include a sensor disposed on the entry hole to detect an entry state of the golf ball.

According to the present invention, desirably, the hole cup for golf practice may further include speakers for generating set sounds for a predetermined time, if the golf ball enters the entry hole, under the control of the control unit for controlling power of a power supply unit and performing the calculation for the data detected by the sensor.

According to the present invention, desirably, the hole cup for golf practice may further include light emitters for generating set light for a predetermined time, if the golf ball enters the entry hole, under the control of the control unit for controlling power of the power supply unit and performing the calculation for the data detected by the sensor.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments of the invention in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side sectional view showing the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a schematic exemplary view showing an operating state of the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention;

FIGS. 5 and 6 are schematic exemplary views showing another example of hole wall bodies of the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are schematic exemplary views showing a support body of the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic block diagram showing a state of controlling the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Now, an explanation of a hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention will be given with reference to the attached drawings.

Before the present invention is disclosed and described, it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely exemplary of the invention, which can be embodied in various forms. Those skilled in the art will envision many other possible variations within the scope of the present invention. In the description, the thicknesses of the lines or the sizes of the components shown in the drawing may be magnified for the clarity and convenience of the description. The corresponding parts in the embodiments of the present invention are indicated by corresponding reference numerals. If it is determined that the detailed explanation on the well known technology related to the present invention makes the scope of the present invention not clear, the explanation will be avoided for the brevity of the description.

FIGS. 1 to 9 show a hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention, and the hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention includes: a base plate 2 with a given area unfoldedly located supportedly on a floor of a place where the golf practice is performed; and hole wall bodies 3 arranged on top of the base plate 2 to extend upward from the base plate 2 to a given height and having an entry hole 31 formed at the insides thereof to allow a golf ball 100 to accommodatedly enter and entry openings 32 formed on one side thereof to allow the golf ball 100 to pass therethrough and thus enter the entry hole 31 from the outside.

In specific, when a user hits a golf ball to perform his or her putting practice, he or she practices swing toward the entry hole 31 as a target.

In this case, the golf ball 100 rolling toward the entry hole 31 according to the user's putting enters the entry hole 31 through any one of the entry openings 32 formed on the hole wall bodies 3, so that such putting is repeatedly practiced.

In this case, two or more entry openings 32 are formed on the hole wall bodies 3, and they have different widths W from one another.

In specific, the entry openings 32 providing targets are appropriately selected in area (width) according to the user's selection, and after the selected entry opening 32 is located facingly toward the user, accordingly, he or she performs putting practices.

As a result, the putting practice can be customized according to the skill levels of the user's putting practice.

This efficiently improves precision in the putting practice.

The three entry openings 32 are formed around the center of the entry hole 31 at intervals of equal angles to one another, and accordingly, they are located to face the wall surfaces of the hole wall bodies 3.

In specific, the golf ball 100 passing through the entry opening 32 collides against the wall surface of the hole wall body 3 in the interior of the entry hole 31 and is thus stopped, thereby being prevented from unintentionally escaping from the entry hole 31 to the outside.

The widths W of the entry openings 32 are set to 9, 10, and 12 cm, but they are appropriately adjusted according to the user's selection.

The hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention includes a sensor 4 disposed on the entry hole 31 to detect an entry state of the golf ball 100.

In specific, the state in which the golf ball 100 enters the entry hole 31 is detected through the sensor 4.

The sensor 4 is provided with a motion sensor, an optical sensor, a weight sensor, or the like, and the structure and configuration of the sensor 4 may be appropriately selected and adopted by the user from conventional known technologies.

The sensor 4 is located on the bottom of the entry hole 31 and thus detects rolling motions of the golf ball 100 after enters the inside of the entry hole 31 through motion detection, light reflection detection, weight detection, or the like, and the position structure and configuration of the sensor 4 may be appropriately selected and adopted by the user from conventional known technologies.

The hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention includes speakers 51 for generating set sounds for a predetermined time, if the golf ball 100 enters the entry hole 31, under the control of a control unit 61 for controlling power of a power supply unit 62 and performing the calculation for the data detected by the sensor 4.

Further, the hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention includes light emitters 52 for generating set light for a predetermined time, if the golf ball 100 enters the entry hole 31, under the control of the control unit 61 for controlling power of the power supply unit 62 and performing the calculation for the data detected by the sensor 4.

In specific, if the golf ball 100 is putted by the user and thus enters the entry hole 31 successfully, the successful putting is detected by the sensor 4, so that the speakers 51 and the light emitters 52 selectively operate under the control of the control unit 61.

In this case, the set sounds and light are generated to the outside according to the data set in the control unit 61 by the user, so that the user reliably recognizes whether his or her putting is successful or not, without any checking with the naked eye.

After the putting is done, as a result, the user recognizes whether his or her putting is successful, while he or she does not watch the entry hole 31, so that his or her putting posture is not lost.

Moreover, his or her interest in putting can increase to improve his or her putting practice efficiency in right posture.

The sounds and light set in the control unit 61 and thus generated to the outside are different from one another according to the entry openings 32 selected, and accordingly, they may be freely adopted according to the user's selection.

The hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention is configured to have four entry openings 32 arranged at given intervals on the hole wall bodies 3 around the center of the entry hole 31, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 .

In this case, the widths W of the entry openings 32 are set to 9, 10, 12, and 16 cm, but they are appropriately adjusted according to the user's selection.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 , the hole cup 1 for golf practice according to the present invention includes a support body 7 adapted to laminatedly locate the base plate 2 on top thereof and having a downward slant surface with a given height from the floor toward the entry direction of the golf ball 100.

In specific, the base plate 2 is located to the given height from the floor through the support body 7, thereby practicing the putting on a slope.

Accordingly, the putting practice for various environments is performed, thereby improving quality in use for the hole cup 1.

The support body 7 has an induction pipe 71 disposed in the interior thereof to allow the entrance thereof to be spatially connected to a through hole formed on the bottom of the entry hole 31 to accommodate the golf ball 100 freely falling therein and thus induce the golf ball 100 in a forward direction thereof.

In specific, the golf ball 100 freely falling from the entry hole 31 through the entrance of the induction pipe 71 is induced toward the user and thus collected through the inertia generated upon falling.

Further, a hitter 8 is located in the induction pipe 71 and operates under the control of the control unit 61 to hit the golf ball 100 toward the user.

In specific, the golf ball 100 freely falling from the entry hole 31 is hit by the hitter 8 toward the user, so that it is inducedly collected.

Accordingly, the collection of the golf ball 100 is more stably achieved.

The hitter 8 has a solenoid valve structure in which it selectively generates linear motion energy under the control of the control unit 61 and thus hits the golf ball 100, and the structure and configuration of the hitter 8 may be appropriately selected and adopted by the user from conventional known technologies.

As described above, the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention is installed on the indoor or outdoor floor and serves as the target upon putting practice, so that the putting practice process in which the golf ball rolls toward the entry hole according to the user's putting swing and thus enters any one of the entry openings of the hole wall bodies is repeatedly performed, thereby practicing his or her putting. In this case, the entry openings 32 providing the target are appropriately selected in area (width) according to the user's selection, so that the putting practice can be customized according to the skill levels of the user's putting practice.

Further, the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention improves precision in the putting practice.

In addition, the hole cup for golf practice according to the present invention is configured to allow, if the golf ball is putted by the user and thus enters the entry hole successfully, the successful putting to be detected by the sensor, so that the speakers and the light emitters selectively operate under the control of the control unit to generate the set sounds and light to the outside, thereby allowing the user to reliably recognize whether his or her putting is successful or not, without any checking with the naked eye.

As a result, after the putting is done, the user recognizes whether his or her putting is successful, while he or she does not watch the entry hole, so that his or her putting posture is not lost, and his or her interest in putting increases, thereby improving his or her putting practice efficiency in right posture.

While the present invention has been described with reference to the particular illustrative embodiments, it is not to be restricted by the embodiments but only by the appended claims. It is to be appreciated that those skilled in the art can change or modify the embodiments without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. It should be understood that the invention covers all the modifications, equivalents, and replacements within the idea and technical scope of the invention. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A hole cup for golf practice comprising: a base plate (2) with a given area unfoldedly located supportedly on a floor; hole wall bodies (3) arranged on top of the base plate (2) to extend upward from the base plate (2) to a given height and having an entry hole (31) formed at the insides thereof to allow a golf ball (100) to accommodatedly enter and two or more entry openings (32) formed on one side thereof and having different widths W from one another to allow the golf ball (100) to pass therethrough and thus enter the entry hole (31) from the outside; a support body (7) adapted to laminatedly locate the base plate (2) on top thereof and having a downward slant surface with a given height from the floor in the entry direction of the golf ball (100) and an induction pipe (71) disposed in the interior thereof to allow the entrance thereof to be spatially connected to a through hole formed on the bottom of the entry hole (31) to accommodate the golf ball (100) freely falling therein and thus induce the golf ball (100) in a forward direction thereof; and a hitter (8) located in the induction pipe (71) and operating under the control of a control unit (61) for controlling power of a power supply unit (62) to hit the golf ball (100) toward a user.
 2. The hole cup for golf practice according to claim 1, wherein the three entry openings (32) are formed around the center of the entry hole (31) at intervals of equal angles to one another, so that the entry openings (32) are located to face the wall surfaces of the hole wall bodies (3).
 3. The hole cup for golf practice according to claim 1, further comprising a sensor (4) disposed on the entry hole (31) to detect an entry state of the golf ball (100).
 4. The hole cup for golf practice according to claim 3, further comprising speakers (51) for generating set sounds for a predetermined time, if the golf ball (100) enters the entry hole (31), under the control of the control unit (61) for performing the calculation for the data detected by the sensor (4).
 5. The hole cup for golf practice according to claim 3, further comprising light emitters (52) for generating set light for a predetermined time, if the golf ball (100) enters the entry hole (31), under the control of the control unit (61). 